Stay With You
by iGoToExtremes
Summary: Rachel's second attempt at a wedding day didn't go the way she planned. But that doesn't mean the next four years will go the way Finn has in mind, either.
1. The Walls Will Fall Before We Do

AN: Hi. Against my better judgment I'm attempting to inject a dose of reality into what went down during the season finale.

Title is from the Goo Goo Dolls song of the same name. I don't own their fantastic lyrics or anything to do with Glee. Unbetaed.

During the train ride, she indulges in the dramatic turn of events.

She thinks about how she woke up so excited for her wedding day and so determined for it to actually go as planned this time. She nearly boils over with rage at the notion that Finn conspired with her dads to pull the rug out from underneath those plans at the very last minute. Her heart breaks recalling all the little plans she and Kurt had made, albeit tentatively, for their shared future stardom on Broadway.

Mostly, though, she thinks about what Finn said in the car. The saddest part is that everything he said about surrendering to the universe and having experiences on her own makes so much sense. He may have proposed to her those few months ago, but she was the one who pushed for the wedding to be so soon and went absolutely batty planning it when it looked like her NYADA plans had fallen through. And poor Finn. She would love for his future to involve music or performing or something of that nature, but acting school was never a real option for him. She doesn't think the army is, either, and tears pool in her eyes once again at the mere thought of what could befall him if he was shipped off to some war-torn foreign land. But he needs to find his own way, wherever that is.

By the time she gets to New York, she's strangely okay. This is where she belongs and it always has been, long before Finn showed up at glee rehearsal and they sang "You're the One That I Want." If he wants her to set off on her own and have the experiences that are coming to her, that's fine. And if he needs to redeem his father by joining the army, he can do that too. But Rachel Berry does not surrender.

That night, she realizes a critical flaw in his scheme and sneaks out of the hotel room while her dads are asleep.

"You never said yes."

"Uh, what?" Finn's voice is hesitant and a little sleepy. She's just glad he answered the call.

"In the car, I asked " 'You're joining the army?' and you didn't say 'Yes'."

There's a pause, and she can imagine the adorably befuddled look on his face as he tries to think of what to say.

"I'm not enlisting," he admits, his voice small and quiet. "But I need to see if there's anything else I can do about my dad's discharge status. I figure Fort Benning is a good place to start since that's where he first reported."

"And after that?" She allows her question to be hopeful even though she knows it's going to be met with resistance.

"Dammit, Rach!" He yells, immediately giving way to sobs. "Don't you see? I don't _know_ what comes next. You've always known where you wanted to be and you found a way to get there and… I'm not like you. I still need to figure out what my dreams are and what I'm going to do with my life."

"I told you, we can figure it out together—"

"Rachel…"

She huffs, begrudgingly accepting that this isn't a conversation they can have over the phone.

"You once said that you don't give up that easily. Well neither do I."

Hanging up on him feels almost as good as one of her classic storm-outs.

They're only in New York for a few days. She takes a tour of NYADA and picks out a dorm that she'll move into in mid-August.

When she returns home she goes straight to Finn's house and starts talking before she's even fully in the door.

"I will surrender by accepting that circumstances prevent us from getting married right now. And I will surrender the notion that we should get married any time soon. Finally, I surrender any plans of you coming to New York with me now. But it's not as simple as you putting me on a train and saying that we need to let the universe decide if and when we'll be together again."

His stony expression says that he's trying to be strong and stick to his principles, but when the slightest trace of guilt appears on his face she knows she's on the right track.

"We _should_ let the universe 'do it's thing' to a certain extent, and if that means that you need to ascertain what happened to your father and try to change his discharge status, you should go ahead. And after that you can do whatever it is that comes next, when you figure out what that is. But if you think for one second that anything about you will hold me back from following through on all the things I want to do, then you really don't understand how the universe works _at all_."

After another brief pause she decides to go for broke.

"I'm not resisting the surrender plan for the sake of being stubborn or because I think you're wrong. I'm resisting it because I did _**not **_work this hard – practicing for my audition, getting over the pain of having choked, tracking down Carmen Thibadeau and persuading her to come to Nationals where _**we **_gave the performance of a lifetime that got me into NYADA—" she hurriedly gasps in a breath and continues her explanation "—so that I could be 'set free' and pursue my dreams completely on my own. You don't need to be there _with _me, physically, to share in the experiences. In at least some sense of the word I'll always be with you, and vice versa, and there's no surrendering _**that**_."

She exhales dramatically and allows him to process everything she said – everything she should've said in the car before she got on that train.

Eventually, a smile tugs at the corner of his mouth.

"Okay."

He says it so easily that she indulges in her own mile-wide grin, despite knowing that this is only the beginning of a long and winding road.

AN: By way of further information that I'm sure no one cares about, my husband and I started dating exactly ten years ago today, five weeks shy of our high school graduation with plans to attend college in different places.

We don't live in a TV show so there was no premature teenage marriage proposal or dramatic train station send-off, and we just sort of dealt with the challenges of the long-distance relationship as they came. The arrangement isn't for everybody but I've always envisioned it as a feasible option for Finchel given all the personal growth that needs to happen, especially on Finn's end.

Since there's a lot to explore in my vision of their future, and because I routinely ignore the instinct to quit while I'm ahead, this will be continued for a presently indeterminate number of chapters.

Your reviews appreciated.


	2. These Streets Turn Me Inside Out

AN: Thanks to those who've reviewed and alerted. This story is way more emo and angsty and meandering than most of my stuff. It's been fun exploring that style and I only hope it isn't too nonsensical and rambly for everyone's tastes.

I still don't own Glee or the Goo Goo Dolls lyrics.

* * *

_These streets  
Turn me inside out  
Everything shines  
But leaves me empty still  
And I'll burn this lonely house down  
If you run with me  
If you run with me_

Rachel spends the rest of the summer treading very carefully with respect to, well, everything. She thinks about NYADA and her career aspirations, but in a more practical way than her previous overdramatic musings about taking Broadway by storm.

She and Finn also take their time backing off of their prior plans. Instead of picking out chairs for a wedding reception and bickering over just how small is too small as far as shoebox apartments go, they revert to simply spending time together.

They don't really talk about how their plans have changed (completely dissolved, is more like it) until she brings it up on afternoon in late July.

"You don't regret the way things are going, right?" They're sitting on a blanket under the big oak tree in his backyard. Well, more specifically Finn is sitting up against the tree trunk while Rachel lies with her head in his lap.

His mouth dips into a thoughtful frown. "Nah." He shifts her so that she's forced to sit up while they talk. "Actually, I was really relieved when said you wouldn't surrender it all. The way I sent you off on the train… I was a complete dick."

She leans up to kiss him, reassuringly. "No. You merely gave me the push you thought was necessary to send me on my way. And it worked. I just… changed the terms a little bit." She pauses, biting her lip. "Thanks for delaying your trip to Georgia."

He shrugs. "It makes more sense this way."

She nods, assuming he's referring to the fact that he's been able to work in Burt's shop, where summer brings a great deal of business. The timing also coincides with sweltering conditions in the South, which Finn told her he'd rather avoid.

Rachel is grateful they have time to enjoy each other without any immediate pressure. She knows they'll have to say goodbye when she leaves for school, but in the meantime they can extend their glorious year of simply being teenagers in love.

She can't help but feel like she did it all backwards; spending most of her childhood embroiled in a self-imposed regimen of rigorous activities and emotional isolation, only to squeeze her carefree adolescent existence into such a short time.

Nonetheless, by the time mid-August rolls around she feels… whole. Or at least as whole as one can feel when she's on the cusp of her adult life.

Going to New York for good is just as bittersweet as her impromptu late-spring trip, although this time her anxiety is less acute since she's had a few months to adjust to the idea of starting college without Finn or Kurt around. Over the summer she'd contacted her roommate, Gina, and it's exciting to meet in-person when they both move in.

The experience is at once overwhelming and liberating. She's assaulted with the sights and sounds of New York City and a week-long orientation to NYADA's musical theater department, which the faculty promise will be a rigorous and ultimately shape her into a Broadway-caliber performer.

But when her classmates complain about how many hours they spent preparing voice solos or poring over music theory reading, Rachel merely smiles quietly to herself. Having choked at her audition leaves her with a deep appreciation for the opportunity to study so hard and so much. She was very close (she assumes, anyway) to not having any of this, so she's determined to soak up every minute of her education.

* * *

Finn only spends a few weeks in Georgia. She's not sure what exactly he planned to do there, but he seems keen on retracing his father's steps as closely possible, starting with the small military town on the outskirts of Columbus.

His father kept a diary during basic, and being in Ft. Benning adds some color to the written anecdotes. None of the local business owners remember Chris Hudson specifically, but they're able to get Finn in contact with one of his buddies who settled in the area after retirement.

"Fred Smith. He's one of the guys who my dad saved in Kuwait," he tells her on the phone one night. "He told me all about their experiences during boot camp and deployment, how my dad was totally serious and dedicated to the army but also played ridiculous practical jokes whenever he could. Fred's wife _begged _me to stay for dinner and she made this awesome fried chicken. They have a daughter our age who's away at UGA, but their younger son is fifteen and plays guitar in a garage band with some buddies. They let me jam with them and we're all Facebook friends now."

Finn's voice is full of a certain satisfied exuberance that she can't quite place. But it makes her smile.

Apparently there's an office near the base which maintains public records relating to servicemen who initially reported there, so he reads up on news articles about Desert Storm and the military-political climate during the time of his father's service. The only downside is that it's merely a repository and not a place to follow up on changes in discharge status.

For that, he travels up to Washington, where Burt helps him get a meeting with some Department of Defense officials. They're sympathetic, listening to Finn's plight and sharing as much as they're permitted about his father's military service. They explain that there are certain rules and protocols which dictate when a soldier's discharge must be branded negatively. Most of all, they impress upon him that those regulations don't always operate fairly but can't be altered.

"I feel kind of stupid now, for thinking that they could just change his status because I asked them to," he admits to her on the phone that night. "They couldn't tell me much about what happened to him overseas – you know, whatever horrible war stuff led him to drugs, but..." He pauses, and she can practically hear him choke back the tears before he continues. "They said they were sorry. That it's a shame the whole thing happened to such a dedicated soldier. And they gave me information for support groups and stuff, in case I want to talk to other family members who've been through something similar."

The closure he obtains is sufficient to keep him from going to Cincinnati to learn more about the circumstances of his father's death.

He decides to stay in Washington and work in Burt's Capitol Hill office. Kurt is there, too, having resolved to spend his year off exposing himself to a realm outside the performing arts. Carole has been splitting her time between Ohio and DC, but she spends more time in the latter once her son settles there as well. Finn expresses his happiness that they get to be a family unit for at least a little while longer.

* * *

The proximity of their two cities means Finn can visit her rather easily. There's a certain routine to it all – they start talking about their plans for the visit a few days before he arrives, she lets the excitement bubble up as she gets her studying done and puts in a few long shifts at the coffee shop where she works. She meets him at the train station and just when she feels like she might burst with anticipation he emerges at the top of the staircase leading up from the train tracks. She makes a point of running to him (as best as she can through the crowd of arriving passengers). He always scoops her up in his arms and whispers that he missed her before they head back to her dorm.

She still wears the ring, but it's back on a chain around her neck, hanging low enough that usually it's not visible. Her close friends know about Finn and meet him when he visits, but otherwise she doesn't go out of her way to mention the situation. She realizes that the circumstances are more complicated than the average college student can contemplate. The situation makes her feel incredibly lucky and also severely lonely.

It's also oddly convenient that she goes to performing arts school, where something like eighty percent of the boys are gay. Still, there's the cute cellist from the _Into The Woods_ pit orchestra who flirts with her during rehearsal breaks and a few particularly suave customers at work have asked for her number. She admits to herself that she enjoys the attention, but it's not enough to make her forget who owns her heart.

She's incredibly conflicted most of the time. As much as she's throwing herself into everything NYADA has to offer, it feels more like a means to an end than an experience unto itself. Being in New York simply won't mean as much so long as she's waiting for the time when she and Finn are together again, permanently.

Still, never once does she feel like she's going about things the wrong way. She's having her experiences and Finn is having his. And, although at a distance, they both still have each other.

* * *

AN: I have two more chapters in mind. Please review!


	3. Run to Me Now

AN: Welcome to the penultimate installment of this tale. Thanks to those who reviewed/alerted (or "followed," as it seems they're calling it now) and to **profitina** for taking time out of her weekend excursion to beta.

I still don't own Glee or the Goo Goo Dolls' music.

* * *

_Now wake up this world _

_Wake up tonight _

_And run to me _

_Run to me now_

Rachel finishes her first semester and heads home for winter break the day before her 18th birthday. Her dads make a scene in the airport when she meets them by the baggage claim area, engulfing her in vigorous hugs and cooing over their little girl being a mature and successful college student. (Nevermind the fact that they just visited her in New York for Thanksgiving.)

Once safely in the backseat of her parents' car Rachel texts Finn to let him know she'd arrived and was on her way home. He and his family had arrived in Lima a few days earlier; leaving DC right after Congress broke for the holiday recess. She yawns as the familiar sights of Lima go by. After the exhaustion of finals period she's looking forward to a quiet evening snuggling up with Finn in her old bed.

She's appropriately shocked, then, when she arrives at her childhood home to shouts of "Surprise!" from the living room full of her friends. They're standing under a "Happy Birthday" banner and in front of a dining room table covered in an impressive spread of catered food.

Gaping, she looks back at her dads, who are glowing with pride at their role in keeping the party a secret.

"Surprised?" Finn asks as he kisses her cheek before helping her take her coat off.

"Yes!" she exclaims, approaching the rest of the group and accepting hugs from Mercedes and Tina first. Gradually she makes it through the crowd, which includes the entire glee club, Mr. Schue, Ms. Pillsbury, Burt, and Carole.

The party is a great way to kick off the break, which also includes an action-packed birthday-of-fun courtesy of her dads, Christmas at the Hudson-Hummel home, a community holiday party sponsored by Burt's office, and a New Directions reunion/New Year's Eve soiree.

A few days after they ring in 2013, Rachel flies with Finn back to Washington. Congress isn't actually in session yet so he has plenty of time to show her around the cute residential neighborhood where the family is renting a condo, give her a tour of the Capitol building, and bring her by the office. It's a small but industrious space; Finn's desk is off in a corner next to Kurt's, separated by a small file cabinet decorated with pictures of the three of them and their parents and glee friends.

She'd certainly heard a lot about Finn's work activities during their phone conversations and his visits to New York, but seeing him in the Congressional environs allows her to put his experiences into context. His main day-to-day responsibilities consist of fielding calls from constituents back in Burt's district and summarizing their concerns, and giving tours of the Capitol to visiting Ohioans. As far as the heavy legislative lifting, Burt (understandably, given his background) serves on the House of Representatives Committee on Small Business as well as the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Those areas don't really seem to interest Finn, and he spends as much time as he can spare attending public hearings about homeland security and armed services issues.

He seems excited about it; but the enthusiasm is different from the youthful and exuberant way he reacts to beating Puck at Halo or hearing that a new Avengers movie is coming out. It's a more mature and pensive excitement… and it gets her thinking.

"Do you think this is something you'd want to do long-term?" she asks, cautiously, while they share a "jumbo slice" of pizza as a late-night snack.

"Nah. I'm glad to be here now, but as a career I don't think it's for me," he says matter-of-factly. "The entry-level staffers all have 4-year degrees in political science or international relations, from schools way too fancy for me to get into. And the really important people – the lead staff people and the Congress-members themselves – have masters degrees or law degrees on top of that."

He takes another bite of the giant, greasy triangle of dough and cheese ("A DC tradition!" he'd insisted earlier) and chews thoughtfully.

"Besides," he goes on, "you won't be here."

She smiles at the sentiment but doesn't want to let him off that easily. "Last time I checked, New York had a rather robust government and political scene," she points out, wiping her mouth with a napkin.

Finn merely shrugs, gathering their trash and throwing it away before escorting her out of the small pizza shop and onto the chilly street.

Finn visits for President's Day weekend, and they celebrate Valentine's Day a week late with a romantic dinner at none other than Sardi's. Rachel tries not to dwell on the memory of the prior year's Valentine's Day, when she reacted utterly immaturely in anticipation of a future that never came to fruition.

The next day, they stop at the coffee shop for breakfast before an afternoon of sightseeing. Rachel emerges from the bathroom and catches Finn looking at the bulletin board. She approaches quietly and follows his eyes to an ad. It's a yellow flier with thick black writing that reads "easygoing modern rock band seeks drummer" and provides contact information for setting up a tryout.

"Something look interesting?" she asks hopefully.

"Oh, um, nah," he sputters. "So, uh, let's see what this Whitney chick has in her museum, huh?" He slips his arm around her and guides her out the door of the shop.

He sighs as they walk towards the subway, so quietly that she might have missed it if she wasn't waiting for it.

"I'm just saying, Finn," she says quietly, "you love music, and it's not outside the realm of possibility that you pursue it as a career." She pauses, wary of opening an old wound but willing to go there just the same. "Isn't that something you thought about when you were younger? When Darren first introduced you to classic rock?"

She glances up just in time to see his lips twitch upward in a small grin. "Yeah. But I put that in the category of 'silly dreams I had as a kid.'" He shrugs unceremoniously.

"Just because you had a dream as a child doesn't make it silly," she says quietly, looking down at the concrete.

"Nah, that's not what I mean. And it's nothing against you, since you're so awesome at acting and singing and stuff, and you're totally going to have entire theaters standing and clapping for you." They stop to wait for the traffic light to change and he bends down a little to kiss her cheek as if to emphasize his point. "I just don't think I could ever be that good at anything musical. Maybe I could join a jam band for fun, but I think I need to find a job where I can make a difference and, like, provide for you or whatever." He squeezes her hand affectionately and her heart swells at the sentiment about taking care of her in their joint future.

Just then they pass a local NYPD precinct, where a few officers are talking animatedly while leaning against one of their squad cars. They look ever the image of the fabled police department – a fraternity of brave and upstanding civil servants.

A curious, cautious smile spreads across Finn's face at the sight, but he doesn't say anything as they descend into the subway station.

The next morning Rachel returns from the shower (located down the hall in the floor's shared bathroom, ick) and finds Finn, still clad in his pajamas, on her computer. Sneaking up behind him once again she sees that he's viewing a web page entitled "NYPD Recruitment."

She blatantly gasps at the sight.

"Finn, no. No no no. You scared the living Streisand out of me once with your designs about joining the army, and you cannot even _think_ about becoming a cop.

"But Rach, it's perfect. It's not as dangerous as the army, and I'd be right _here_, with you, helping people _every day_." The smile on his face is genuine

"Finn," she says with a wince, tears brimming around her eyes.

"Well, what then, Rachel?" Finn asks loudly, abruptly standing up from her desk chair and starting to pace around her small room. "I used to think that I couldn't have big dreams like you – or that my dreams weren't things that could come true – because I wasn't good enough. Now, I get the sense that none of our dreams _mean_ anything because the world is just so big and fucked up. I'm trying _so_ hard to figure out what to do with my life to make a difference in the world, but I feel like I'm being pulled in twelve directions. Running Burt's tire shop would mean being stuck in Lima. The army would make my mom worry too much. I'm not smart enough to go into politics like the people in Washington. And I'm not a talented enough singer or drummer to make a decent living and support you until you make it on Broadway. So what am I supposed to do?"

Rachel scoffs. "If 'supporting me' requires putting yourself in harm's way on a daily basis, I respectfully decline the offer."

He recoils, clearly taken aback by her statement… which, she realizes, came out much more harshly than intended.

"Finn," she says again, more resolutely this time, taking his hand and forcing him to stop pacing and look at her. "I want to be with you _forever_. How are you going to support me if you're shot and killed in the line of duty?"

He rolls his eyes silently and she realizes how ridiculous and paranoid she sounds.

"Maybe..." She looks down at their entwined hands and then back up into his eyes. "Maybe it's something to consider. I'm sorry for rushing to conclude otherwise."

"Nah, I mean I wouldn't want to do something if it upsets you that much." He looks down at the floor, apparently content to ignore her apology.

The rest of his visit is uneventful aside from the lingering tension. Rachel feels bad for having created it.

She attempts to apologize again while they're waiting in Penn Station for his train. "Finn, I just want to say that—"

"Rach, it's fine," he interrupts. "I guess I just need more time to figure out what I can do with my life, you know?"

She nods, somewhat forlornly, and he engulfs her in a tight hug before kissing her goodbye and slinking away towards the escalator down to track 9E.

Watching him walk away harder than it's ever been. In addition to his physical departure, she fears that she's now driven him away emotionally by pushing the discussion of his future to the point of argument.

She realizes that she shouldn't have reacted so negatively to a potential career path, but at the time it was an honest initial response.

In addition to the dangerous aspect of the job, it also concerns her to see Finn resigning himself to a civil service career when he has he potential to do so much more. Why couldn't she have reiterated that before blurting out her misgivings about his safety?

Since they first became friends, Finn had _**always **_provided the most heartfelt encouragement with regard to her various pursuits. And she just picked a hell of a time to forget to return the favor.

She was going to have to fix that.

* * *

AN2: As a former U.S. Senate intern it took a lot to restrain myself from completely nerding out with details about Congress. Message me if you want to hear stories.

And of course, please review.


	4. Take What You Need From Me

AN: We have reached the final chapter. Thanks to those who've read and to **profitina** for betaing. Same disclaimers as prior installments.

* * *

_Now come in from this storm  
And I taste you sweet and warm  
Take what you need  
Take what you need from me_

Over the next few weeks, Rachel is bogged down with midterms and Finn becomes very busy helping Burt gear up for his reelection campaign. She barely has time to speak to him on the phone at all, so delving into a heavy conversation about his apparent desire to become a police officer is totally off the table.

Finally, her spring break starts and she takes the train to DC to visit him again.

His eyes light up when he sees her enter Union Station from the outside platform, but there's a slight hesitation when she runs to him and they hug.

Their ride from the station to Woodley Park is devoid of conversation. Rachel decides to break the silence while they walk up the stairs of the two-story condo building.

"Remember what Mr. Schue said sophomore year? About life being more about the journey – 'getting there' – than about the destination?" She follows him through their apartment and into his room.

"Yeah?" he says expectantly, sitting down in his desk chair and kicking off his shoes.

She flops herself onto his bed. Now that they're together the speech she'd rehearsed in her head doesn't seem to work.

"I just… I don't want you to rush into any decisions about your future."

"Uh, yeah about that, Rach…" There's a flicker of a smile as he tries to interrupt her.

"No, let me finish, please," she requests, even though she's not really sure what she's saying. She sighs before she attempts talking again, merely sputtering a few half-sentences about how one needs time to find himself and that she'll support him no matter where they are and it's all so nonsensical that she buries her face in her hands and groans.

"Rach!"

She looks up and notices that he's holding an envelope.

A large, fat envelope that's already been opened. It says "CUNY" on the upper left corner.

Her eyes perk up and he smiles in earnest this time. "Go ahead, read it," he encourages, extending his long arm and handing her the parcel.

She opens the flap and pulls out the letter on top of the stack of materials.

"'Dear Mr. Hudson,'" she begins. "'Congratulations, and welcome to the City University of New York School of Public Health at Hunter College.'"

"Huh," she says to herself, skimming the remainder of the letter. Since when was he interested in public health?

"Community health is one of the undergrad degrees recommended for going into veterans' services administration." He goes on to explain that he met with someone from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, who then got him an informational phone interview with an official from the New York State Division of Veterans' Affairs. "I realized that after the crap that happened to my dad, the best thing I can do is make sure that it doesn't happen to some other kid's parent."

"Ohh, Finn." She feels tears welling up in her eyes as she peruses the letter again and processes the news. In some ways she's genuinely sad that he came to this conclusion more or less on his own and she didn't get to participate in it. But mostly she's just proud of him for channeling his angst about his father into a career path, and gaining acceptance into a great school.

When she looks back up at Finn he's beaming with pride and blushing a little and it snaps her out of her overly emotional state… but not before she indulges in one last emphatic sigh.

"I still owe you a formal in-person apology for interjecting my own opinions and predilections into your decision-making process." She looks down at the letter one more time. "Are you _sure_ this is what you want? I imagine you would make a wonderfully valiant police officer… and I'm sure _eventually_ I could learn not to fear for your life every minute of the day."

He chuckles. "Nah, this is what I want, really. Even if I don't go into veterans' stuff, I can be an addiction counselor or school advisor or something like that. " He takes her hands in his. "And I'm sorry, too. I should've told you that I applied to CUNY. But after what happened with Pace, I didn't want to get your hopes up and disappoint you. Again. And…" He looks down awkwardly at their entwined fingers. "I also had trouble dealing with the idea that you're going to graduate from school first and I won't be able to, like, provide for you right away while you're going on your auditions and stuff. Becoming a cop seemed like a good backup plan."

"Well, first of all, you could _never_ disappoint me." As if to emphasize her point she strokes his cheek affectionately. "And on a second and related note, you 'provide' for me in ways that are far more important than financial support. You've always been there for me, in Glee and with West Side Story and my NYADA audition. I know when we first met I was obnoxiously driven and self-centered, but since then I've learned so much about teamwork and partnership and…"

She realizes that she's been toying with the diamond ring hanging from the chain around her neck. "I know we didn't talk about—and we don't have to, but—we're still a team, aren't we? 'A part of something special'?"

Finn smiles and nods.

"So please, let me reciprocate what you've been doing for me this whole time."

He makes a face as though he's pondering her rhetorical request. "I suppose I could do that."

When Rachel rolls her eyes he tackles her back onto his bed.

* * *

She finds it surprisingly easy. During his freshman year Finn lives in a dorm all the way on the Upper East Side. When her NYADA friends muse about what a shlep that subway ride must be, she points out that it's certainly better than a three-hour trip on Amtrak.

The following year they move in to their fabled shoebox apartment. They don't exactly have a ton of down-time to enjoy it because Rachel is in two intensive workshops per semester and Finn has to take biology _and_ chemistry. But something about it just feels right. They go about their daily affairs separately – classes, rehearsal, part-time jobs – but convene most evenings for a simple homemade dinner. Rachel learns to make all of Finn's favorite foods and takes pride in doing so regularly… especially since it's cheaper than take-out and she intends for them to be financially responsible. On the rare nights when she's too busy to cook, Finn makes them each grilled cheese (the real stuff for himself and soy-based imitation for her).

One Tuesday in March she returns home from rehearsal to find Finn at the table in their combination kitchen/living room/dining room, sulking over his chemistry books.

"Hi," she says as she approaches the back of his chair, kissing his temple and glancing at the page his eyes are glued to. "Looks hard."

"It is," he pouts. She rubs his shoulder affectionately before hanging up her coat and heading into the kitchen to start dinner.

"Gahh!"

A mere ten minutes later she hears Finn groan in frustration.

"I'm never going to understand all of this! It's not enough that all the elements have special abbreviations? Who cares how much they weigh?" He slams a textbook closed and rises from the table, stalking across the small room and flopping down onto his father's old chair.

Rachel hurriedly turns off the burner and wipes her hands on a dish towel before perching on the arm of the chair, her arm draped across his back.

"It's okay, Finn. I think I still have my notes from high school chemistry, and I can try to help you. You'll just do the best you can."

He sighs. "Thanks, Rach. I just feel crappy about being so bogged down with this stuff. And I still have two and a half years to go. I can't even remember the last time I made dinner for us, or did my own laundry, and… I've always wanted to do more for you."

"Hey," she says gently, coaxing him to look at her. "As I've said before, you give me so much just by being you. And we're here, in New York, _together_. I know it sounds silly, but that's really all I've ever wanted, from the first time we met. So whatever happens from here on out, I just know that it's going to be okay."

"It's not silly," he assures her, grinning wistfully. "I think it's what I've always wanted, too. Even if it took me a while to realize it."

"Yes, I noticed that when you tried to send me away completely on my own on what was supposed to be our wedding day," she smirks.

Finn winces, despite the fact that they're able to joke about it now. "Hey, I did what I thought was the right thing at the time. It kept you from deferring, so I consider it a good move."

"Maybe," she concedes. "But at any rate, after all we've been through we're not going to let a little thing like chemistry stop us, okay? I'm going to finish dinner, you're going to eat with me, I'm going to help you study, and on Thursday you're going to pass that midterm with flying colors!"

Finn's lopsided grin creeps across his face in response to her encouragement, and he gets a far-away look in his eyes even as he gazes at her.

"Marry me?" he asks quietly, seemingly unsure of both the need to ask and what her response will be.

She simply leans forward and gives him a soft peck on the lips. "I've always planned on it."

* * *

Their wedding consists of a short ceremony at the Justice of the Peace followed by a simple, intimate affair catered (at her dads' insistence) in the Berry backyard.

After the last of the guests leave the newlyweds drive over to the local Marriott, where they'll spend the night. The next day they'll depart on their long-awaited Niagara Falls honeymoon before returning to school for their senior and junior years of college.

Positively giddy over their nuptials, Finn insists upon carrying her across the threshold of the hotel room. Rachel protests, citing that the tradition is arcane and cheesy and that regardless he's supposed to carry her into their **home **and not the hotel room where they're staying one night. He ignores her complaints except to promise that he'll carry her across the threshold of their apartment, too.

With that he deposits her gently on the king-sized bed and kicks off his shoes before lying down next to her.

"So, _Mrs. Hudson_," he says, clearly gloating about her decision to take his name after all, "how do _**you**_ feel now that we're finally married?"

Rachel sighs, daintily slipping off her own shoes before snuggling into his chest. "Well worth the wait. The experiences of the last three years have made me appreciate everything so much more."

"Yeah," he agrees, stroking her arm gently.

She has more to say about it, naturally, but for the moment she's content letting the physical exhaustion of the day – and the emotional exhaustion of the last few years, really – wash over her in the silence of the room.

After all, they have the rest of their lives to talk.

_I'll stay with you  
The walls will fall before we do  
So take my hand now, we'll run forever  
I can feel the storm inside you  
I'll stay with you._


End file.
